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2
Small Businesses as a Way Out of Poverty
Evidence shows that small businesses are vital for healthy
economies. Developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America need to match
industrialized countries, where high-growth small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs) account for up to 95% of total enterprises, one-sixth of manufacturing output
and one-fifth of exports.
Smaller firms spread jobs and higher living standards within national
populations – to rural and urban areas alike and to both unskilled and skilled
workers. They offer a variety of products and services, making economies more re-
silient and less vulnerable to downturns in a given product or economic sector. They
are famous for incubating new ideas. Further, they create a sense of valued, practical
optimism: given sufficient local examples, families and communities understand that
going into business is a feasible and effective means of escaping poverty.
SMEs have recently proven to be engines for industrial growth in two rapidly ex-
panding Asian countries – India and China – where small businesses produce more
than half of industrial output. In India SMEs contribute 30-40% of exports and 65%
in China. Moreover, there are real signs of progress in Africa, where the SME sector
generally accounts for over half of the population in formal employment.
UNCTAD provides policy advice to Governments and works with local institutions to
implement a series of programmes to spur the creation and healthy growth of SMEs
in developing countries.
UNCTAD's business linkage programme strives to enhance the competitiveness of
3
developing country SMEs by establi-
shing and strengthening business l
inkages between Transnational Corpora-
tions (TNCs) and SMEs. It covers:
• Policy advice designed to facilitate
sustainable business linkages. For
example, in Uganda a problem arose
with the withholding tax for sugar
cane growers. A policy intervention
facilitated by the Uganda Investment
Authority, Enterprise Uganda and the
ever-strengthening leadership of the
Association of Outgrowers - the main
stakeholders of the UNCTAD Uganda
business linkage programme - sugar
cane growers no longer have to pay
withholding tax.
• Identification of business linkage
opportunities. Large domestic
and foreign companies implement
their own supplier development
programmes in order to upgrade the
skills and standards of their strategic
network of local suppliers and can
become partners with SMEs via linkage
development. For example, within
the context of UNCTAD’s linkages
programme in Brazil, the German TNC,
BASF, supported the adoption of qual-
ity and environmental standards for
local suppliers.
• Upgrading of SMEs to meet foreign
affiliates' requirements. In a crucial
move, financial institutions in Uganda
have accepted the need to provide
credit facilities for SME upgrading
to facilitate linkage development.
Previously, local SMEs lacking access
to credit could not engage in business
linkages because they needed to invest
in a range of technology upgrades and
training initiatives which they could
not finance on their own. So a Savings
and Credit Cooperative Society has
been set up, enabling farmers to save
and access small loans.
• Supply chain management and en-
trepreneurship training. Developing
a joint, five-year strategic plan and
an annual business plan has helped
growers and buyers in Uganda commit
to expansion and modernization. In
Viet Nam, local suppliers of UNILEVER
increased their export capacity after
the programme taught them how to
meet quality standards.
UNCTAD’s Pilot Linkages Programmes Country Partners: Brazil: GTZ, Ethos, Fundacao Dom Cabral, SEBRAE.Uganda: Enterprise Uganda, Uganda Investment Authority, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), SIDA.Viet Nam: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Viet Nam (RMIT Viet Nam), Investment Promotion Centre of North Viet Nam (IPCN).Field Results: Brazil: Projeto Vinculos: 11 large corporations are helping over 80 local partners upgrade in order to meet quality and environmen-tal standards. For example, following a successful pilot phase, the German TNC BASF has decided to extend its supplier upgrading programme to all its Brazilian operations, covering 100 per cent of the costs. A Brazilian SME reports: “Projeto Vinculos has been a success, both in terms of methodology and team quality, in helping us achieve our goal of ISO 14001 certification.” Elisabete Ambrosio, CEO, Plasticos Manaus Ltd. (Brazil)Uganda: Six firms have teamed up with 26 local businesses to streamline their supply chains. The linkages will support a host of local farmers, manufactures and distributors. For example, Uganda Breweries assists over 2,000 farmers with supply chain management and guarantees barley supplies locally. In Western Uganda, Kinyara Sugar Works Limited has strengthened its ties with Kinyara Sugar-cane Growers Limited, benefiting some 2,500 local farmers. A new credit scheme enables farmers to save and access small loans.Viet Nam: Unilever Viet Nam plans to step up domestic production by 59%. Unilever Viet Nam supports the training and deve-lopment of small and medium–sized enterprises in total productive maintenance (TPM) in order to improve their manufacturing sustainability and other areas of management such as safety, hygiene, performance monitoring (KPI) and a manufacturing sustaina-bility improvement programme (MSIP). “The TPM programme has brought considerable changes at our factories, such as a clean factory environment. Most importantly, it has created a new mindset in the workers. They now feel a closer connection to their factory because they believe more in the success of the company.” Mr. Phan Quang Hoa, General Director, Net Detergent Company, (Viet Nam).
4
Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential
Emelda Nyasha Nyamupingidza is Managing Director of Nyaya Industries, a
Zimbabwe-based company that manufactures candles and polishing products.
UNCTAD’s EMPRETEC training helped her to make her business the largest
candle maker and second largest polish maker in Zimbabwe and to start
exporting candles to Malawi and Mozambique.
Policy-makers can encourage entrepreneurship by lowering high
taxes, protecting property rights, minimizing regulatory barriers and implementing
other public policies consistent with a business-friendly environment. What are the
best practices in successful entrepreneurship programmes? UNCTAD’s experience
shows that merely improving the business environment is not enough to guarantee
entrepreneurial development. Successful entrepreneurship programmes should nur-
ture entrepreneurs as catalysts of growth, combining capital, innovation and skills.
A pioneering UN programme in developing entrepreneurship is EMPRETEC, a mecha-
nism that instils behavioural change into a select group of promising entrepreneurs.
The EMPRETEC methodology identifies 10 key areas of competence related to entre-
preneurial development. These include: opportunity-seeking and initiative; persis-
tence; fulfilment of commitments; demand for quality and efficiency; calculated risks;
goal-setting; information-seeking; systematic planning and monitoring; persuasion
and networking; and independence and self-confidence. Associated with these skills
are a series of behavioural indicators found to be the most useful for detecting and
strengthening entrepreneurial potential. Through behavioural change, EMPRETEC
has nurtured over 120,000 entrepreneurs in 27 developing countries (including five
5
LDCs), with the help of more than 600
local certified trainers. For example,
Nina Interiors, a Ugandan SME founded
by Alice Karugaba who came to Enter-
prise Uganda for business development
services, has increased the amount of
its annual tax revenue from $30,000 to
$850,000 after three years of training
and mentoring – all this at a combined
cost of only $12,000!
EMPRETEC also provides a one-stop
shop for information and business
training. EMPRETEC centres stimulate
public-private sector partnerships,
match entrepreneurs with local institu-
tions, and have forward-looking advisory
boards. Their workshops supply the
information, training and
networking that are essential for future
business growth.
EMPRETEC also supports the deve-
lopment of formal education curricula.
For example, EMPRETEC Chile has been
selected by the Government to develop
curricula for primary and secondary
schools on the strength of its exce-
llent, decade-spanning track record. A
recent evaluation confirmed that over
50% of participants in EMPRETEC’s
Chile programme have managed to
increase product quality and profitabi-
lity. Emprendedor Juvenil, another new
and innovative programme launched in
2007 in Guatemala, has helped train 560
students. The Director of the EMPRETEC
centre in Guatemala explains that the
lack of employment opportunities for
youth causes many in this high-risk
group to leave the country or join gangs.
The programme helps to prevent this by
showing them how to create their own
small businesses. “When we launched
the programme, we were expecting
around 200 students and only a
handful of parents. In fact, 560
students and 500 parents showed up,”
said a jubilant Alvaro Urruela Aycinena,
Director of EMPRETEC Guatemala.
The EMPRETEC programme in Brazil is
hosted by SEBRAE, the Brazilian Service
of Support for Micro and Small
Enterprises that has encouraged
entrepreneurship since 1972.
EMPRETEC/SEBRAE operates in 19 of
Brazil’s federal states, backing micro and
small
enterprises that account for 99.2% of
businesses in the country and generate
28.7 million jobs.
(continued on page 12)
How UNCTAD boosted a Small Business in Uganda
National Housing, a large construction company, encouraged the managing director of one of its small suppliers, Charles Mulamata, to join the business linkage programme, suggesting it would improve his business. His initial hesitation gave way to a strong sense of motivation, and by the end of the course he had learnt enough to rethink things. “I saw results already even before finishing the workshop,” he enthused. “I reorganized my office and recruited four more staff”. The course taught him that he needed to comply with quality standards – a means of consolidating business relations with a large company. He also learnt the importance of planning. Knowing that steel doors and windows were likely to be replaced by aluminum ones, he started looking for an Australian aluminum supplier that could meet the specific quality standards requested by his main customer. Having also learnt the importance of marketing, he set a budget for advertising, including a radio programme roll-out. After his company expanded into solar power, his radio programme began focusing on educating the public about the benefits of solar power, arousing considerable interest: “We were receiving 8 to 10 calls per day after the programme started,” he recalls. His
programme emphasizes after-sales support “because the system must work after it has been sold.” Today, business is booming!
6 7
Women in
BusinessAward
2008
The UNCTAD EMPRETEC programme has launched the First Women in Business Award. The Award will be granted to women-owned businesses that have benefited from the busi-ness development services of the EMPRETEC programme - a pioneering UN vehicle for the promotion of entrepreneurship that operates in 27 developing countries. The participating women entrepreneurs own highly produc-tive and innovative businesses in diverse industries, including small handicrafts, in-dustrial food processing, garments and hotel or web portal ownership. They are also role models for other women, spearheading a process of cultural change in their commu-nities. In short, women entrepreneurs in developing countries are overcoming the traditional obstacles that small busi- nesses usually encounter.Technical experts Pierre Kunz of Genilem (Switzerland) and Piero Formica of the In-ternational Entrepreneurship Academy at Jönköping University (Sweden) offered their valuable expertise in selecting the 10 final-ists:• Elba Rosa Torrado, (Argentina)• Léa Edith Medji Dédé (Benin)• Paola Borges Barcellos Tucunduva (Brazil)• Messeret Belihu (Ethiopia) • Augustine E. Hammond (Ghana)• Pauly Apea-Kubi (Ghana)• Irene Bacchus (Guyana)• Sana Zaal Burgan (Jordan)• Sapphira Nyabunwa (Uganda)• Emelda Nyasha Nyamupingidza
(Zimbabwe)The finalists will be evaluated according to selected criteria by a panel of experts in the
fields of entrepreneurship and private sector development. The winner and the second- and third-place runners-up will be invited to the Award Ceremony to be held on Monday, 21 April 2008 in Accra, Ghana on the occa-sion of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of UNCTAD.When casting their vote, the panellists will take into consideration country-specific cir-cumstances that may have an impact on the respective businesses, such as access to finance and technology, infrastructure and market size. The selection criteria include:Innovation: Has the candidate demonstra-ted a proven (for existing business) or poten-tial ability (for start-ups) to create, grow and develop innovative processes, products or ser-vices that substantially improve the commer-cial performance or prospects of the company? Does the business show uniqueness setting it apart from the rest of the pack (strong brand, service, customer care, community develop-ment and innovative products)?Entrepreneurial Talent: Has the candi-date demonstrated exceptional vision and leadership in establishing and developing an owner-led business? Has the candidate suc-cessfully overcome obstacles and business challenges?Outcomes and Achievements: Is the busi-ness commercially and technically viable? Can it compete on non-price factors (e.g. quality, service, functionality)?UNCTAD gratefully acknowledges the techni-cal support provided by Genilem, the Interna-tional Entrepreneurship Academy and the Africa Technology Development Forum (ATDF).
Women in Business Award 2008
UNCTAD XIIACCRA, GHANA 21 APRIL, 2008
8 9
Aug
usti
ne E
. Ham
mon
d, G
hana
“The
turn
ing po
int ca
me w
hen I
volun
teer
ed, p
lanne
d, an
d org
anize
d a fa
shion
show
whil
e at u
niver
sity f
or a
week
end e
nter
tainm
ent p
rogr
amm
e. It
was
a hit
, and
af
ter g
radu
ation
I had
a ha
ndfu
l of d
evot
ed cu
stom
ers
to st
art m
y bus
iness.
Afte
r atte
nding
the m
aiden
ed
ition
of th
e EM
PRET
EC tr
aining
wor
ksho
p in 1
990,
I bec
ame a
ware
of th
e opp
ortu
nities
that
exist
ed in
th
e ind
ustry
.”Bu
sines
s: Je
m Af
rik Cr
eatio
ns Lt
d.P.
O. Bo
x CT 5
721,
Cant
onm
ents
- Acc
raE-
: jem
afrik@
yaho
o.com
www.
jemafr
ikfas
hions
.com
Jem
Afrik
desig
ns an
d pro
duce
s afr
o-et
hnic
cloth
ing ra
nging
from
casu
al we
ar an
d bu
sines
s app
arel
to ev
ening
dres
ses.
It be
gan w
ith
a sing
le em
ploye
e beh
ind a
rent
ed se
wing
mac
hine
in 19
86, a
nd no
w ha
s 55 p
erm
anen
t em
ploye
es, 1
5 tra
ined a
nd m
ento
red w
orke
rs wh
o hav
e set
up th
eir
own b
usine
sses a
nd fu
nctio
n as s
ubco
ntra
ctors,
and
regis
tere
d sale
s rep
rese
ntat
ives i
n the
Unit
ed St
ates
, th
e Car
ibbea
n, an
d sou
ther
n Afri
ca.
Ghan
a’s ga
rmen
t ind
ustry
, driv
en in
part
by th
e po
pular
ity of
trad
ition
al Gh
anaia
n des
igns,
has b
een
grow
ing ra
pidly
and n
ow is
a m
ajor c
ontri
buto
r to t
he
coun
try’s e
xpor
ts. A
ided b
y int
erna
tiona
l tra
de ag
ree-
men
ts su
ch as
the A
frica
Gro
wth a
nd O
ppor
tunit
y Act
(AGO
A), t
he na
tion’s
text
ile an
d app
arel
expo
rts to
the
Unite
d Sta
tes s
urge
d fro
m U
S$55
0,000
in 20
02 to
$7.4
milli
on in
2004
. It i
s esti
mat
ed th
at ov
er 70
,000 j
obs
will b
e cre
ated
by th
e dom
estic
garm
ent a
nd te
xtile
ind
ustry
over
the n
ext f
our y
ears.
Paul
ly A
pea-
Kubi
, Gha
na“I
starte
d dry
ing an
d pac
kagin
g fru
it on
a sm
all sc
ale
afte
r visi
ting a
man
go an
d pine
apple
grow
ing ar
ea of
Gh
ana.
I was
appa
lled a
t the
amou
nt of
post-
harv
est
losse
s and
at th
e sam
e tim
e stru
ck by
the d
iffer
ence
s in
the p
rice o
f fru
it in
betw
een s
easo
ns. S
o I th
ough
t pr
oces
sing f
ruit
to gi
ve it
a lon
ger s
helf l
ife w
ould
help
the f
arm
ers e
arn m
ore b
y red
ucing
post-
harv
est l
osse
s an
d gua
rant
eeing
price
s for
their
prod
ucts.
”Bu
sines
s: Eb
enut
Gha
na Lt
d.GI
CEL E
state
s P. O
. Box
GP18
513 -
Accra
E-m
ail: e
benu
tgh@
yaho
o.com
Iren
e B
acch
us-H
olde
r, G
uyan
a“F
or m
y cus
tom
ers,
I sho
w th
em th
e qua
lity o
f my
prod
ucts
as co
mpa
red t
o tho
se of
my c
ompe
titor
s. We
train
and e
mplo
y you
ng pe
ople
in an
envir
onm
ent
wher
e the
re is
a hig
h rat
e of u
nem
ploym
ent.
Mor
e yo
uth e
mplo
yed e
quals
less
crim
e.”Bu
sines
s: Ire
ne’s C
reat
ive H
andic
raft
97 -
98 Re
publi
c Ave
nue
Mac
kenz
ie - L
inden
E-m
ail: ir
enes
pyro
grap
hy@y
ahoo
.com
This
busin
ess,
which
is ba
sed i
n the
city
of Li
nden
and
now
emplo
ys fiv
e peo
ple, b
egan
whe
n Ms.
Bacc
hus-
Holde
r offe
red g
ifts m
ade o
f woo
d fro
m G
uyan
a’s
rain
fore
st to
seve
ral fr
iends
. She
was
enco
urag
ed to
pr
oduc
e and
sell s
imila
r item
s; an
d whe
n she
show
ed
sam
ples t
o a le
ading
shop
it im
med
iately
plac
ed an
or
der.
The h
andic
rafts
are d
ecor
ative
or fu
nctio
nal,
are b
ased
on or
igina
l des
igns,
and a
re m
ade o
f rar
e --
but n
ot en
dang
ered
-- na
tive w
ood s
pecie
s. O
ften
they
are u
sed a
s cor
pora
te gi
fts. T
he go
vern
men
t of
Guya
na off
ered
them
as gi
fts to
deleg
ates
atte
nding
an
inte
rnat
ional
sum
mit
in Ri
o de J
aneir
o in 2
007.
Guya
na’s n
ative
hand
icraf
t sec
tor is
a m
ajor s
ource
of
inco
me f
or th
e cou
ntry
’s ind
igeno
us pe
oples
. It
also c
reat
es jo
b opp
ortu
nities
for w
omen
, who
are
ofte
n lef
t out
of th
e for
mal
emplo
ymen
t sec
tor.
Ther
e is a
trad
ition
of w
oodw
orkin
g. G
rowt
h in t
he
coun
try’s t
ouris
m in
dustr
y is e
xpec
ted t
o boo
st sa
les
of th
ese c
rafts
, and
the c
ount
ry’s r
ain fo
rest
abou
nds
in ra
re, be
autif
ul sp
ecies
of w
ood,
man
y of w
hich a
re
unkn
own t
o the
rest
of th
e wor
ld.
Elba
Ros
a To
rrad
o, A
rgen
tina
"The
skills
I hav
e lea
rned
I now
pass
on to
my c
lient
s.
The m
otiva
tion f
or st
artin
g my o
wn bu
sines
s was
to
find a
way
to be
com
e fina
ncial
ly ind
epen
dent
of
othe
rs an
d ove
rcom
e diffi
cult
exte
rnal
cond
ition
s. If
I co
uld do
it, so
could
othe
rs."
Busin
ess:
Se ha
ce ca
mino
al an
dar
Mon
tañe
ses 2
411,
2° C
Ciuda
d Aut
ónom
a de
Buen
os Ai
res
www.
seha
ceca
mino
aland
ar.co
m.ar
The fi
rm, w
hose
title
roug
hly t
rans
lates
as "m
ake y
our
own r
oad a
s you
go," i
s bas
ed in
Buen
os Ai
res a
nd
prov
ides s
ervic
es to
othe
r ent
repr
eneu
rs th
roug
h a
webs
ite an
d a w
orldw
ide ra
dio br
oadc
ast v
ia th
e Int
er-
net.
It ar
rang
es th
emat
ic ev
ents,
orga
nizes
busin
ess
awar
ds, p
ublis
hes m
agaz
ines,
and p
rovid
es co
nsult
ing
on en
trepr
eneu
rship.
The c
ompa
ny m
eets
a nee
d in A
rgen
tina's
thriv
ing
entre
pren
euria
l sec
tor, w
here
SMEs
acco
unt f
or 84
%
of th
e cou
ntry
's en
terp
rises
and c
ontri
bute
40%
of
Arge
ntina
's Gr
oss D
omes
tic Pr
oduc
t.
Déd
é Lé
a Ed
ith
Med
ji, B
enin
“With
EMPR
ETEC
, I re
ceive
d ver
y pra
ctica
l ent
re-
pren
eursh
ip tra
ining
that
helpe
d me b
uild m
y skil
ls wh
en it
cam
e to p
lannin
g, re
sear
ching
oppo
rtunit
ies,
and d
rawi
ng up
busin
ess p
lans.
I also
deve
loped
my
perso
nal re
sour
ces a
s a bu
sines
s lea
der.”
Busin
ess:
Mon
petit
Bénin
01 BP
4161
COTO
NOU
E-m
ail: lm
edji@
hotm
ail.co
m
Base
d in C
oton
ou, t
he fir
m pr
oduc
es fr
uit ju
ices a
nd
chips
. Its
majo
r pro
duct
is na
tura
l bao
bab j
uice,
which
is
bottl
ed an
d has
a lon
g she
lf life
. Com
pany
objec
-tiv
es in
clude
prom
oting
loca
l pro
ducts
, ext
endin
g th
e hea
lth be
nefit
s of b
aoba
b and
othe
r fru
it jui
ces
to gr
eate
r num
bers
of pe
ople,
and p
rovid
ing ex
tra
incom
e for
rura
l wom
en in
Benin
. Sup
plies
of ba
obab
tre
e pulp
are p
rovid
ed by
grou
ps of
wom
en in
the
coun
trysid
e who
are t
hus e
ncou
rage
d to m
ainta
in ba
obab
s. Th
e firm
has 1
3 em
ploye
es an
d is s
eekin
g to
add h
andic
appe
d sta
ff as
it ex
pand
s.M
on Pe
tit Bé
nin is
a fir
m th
at ad
ds pr
oces
sing,
or
“valu
e add
ed,” t
o agr
icultu
re, w
hich i
s the
main
stay o
f Be
nin’s e
cono
my.
A go
od ha
rves
t in 2
007 h
elped
the
coun
try’s e
cono
my g
row
by m
ore t
han 5
%. A
gribu
si-ne
ss is
a pro
misi
ng ex
port
secto
r, and
Mon
petit
Bénin
, fo
llowi
ng re
cent
upgr
ades
to it
s pro
ducti
on pr
oces
ses
to co
mply
with
inte
rnat
ional
stand
ards
, rece
ntly
bega
n exp
ortin
g to t
he U
nited
Stat
es.
Paol
a B
orge
s B
arce
llos T
ucun
duva
, B
razi
l“In
an in
creas
ingly
com
petit
ive m
arke
t, co
mm
unica
-tio
n with
emplo
yees
and c
usto
mer
s is c
rucia
l. I s
hare
m
y dre
ams w
ith m
y tea
m to
get t
hem
on bo
ard a
nd
to en
list t
heir h
elp. I
liste
n and
acce
pt an
y cre
ative
so
lution
. We o
pera
te as
a te
am, s
eekin
g to p
rom
ote
quali
ty se
rvice
s by p
aying
emplo
yees
dece
nt w
ages
.”Bu
sines
s: RO
TOVI
C - U
nifor
me L
avan
dería
e Lo
caçã
o Ltd
aRu
a Fra
ncisc
o Dam
ico 20
0Ta
boão
da Se
rra -
Sao P
aulo
E-m
ail: p
aola@
roto
vic.co
m.b
rww
w.ro
tovic
.com
.br
ROTO
VIC i
s a la
undr
y bus
iness
spec
ializi
ng in
wor
k un
iform
s and
unifo
rm re
ntal.
It is
a pio
neer
in th
e use
of
fire-
resis
tant
unifo
rms,
oper
ates
in an
envir
onm
enta
lly fr
iendly
fash
ion --
su
ch as
by re
cycli
ng w
ater
-- an
d has
235 e
mplo
yees
. Its
goal
is to
conc
entra
te in
creas
ingly
on he
alth
and s
afety
serv
ices b
y exp
andin
g int
o the
rent
al of
pr
otec
tive w
ork u
nifor
ms,
prov
iding
indu
strial
laun
dry
serv
ices,
and m
ainta
ining
safet
y equ
ipmen
t.Th
e firm
refle
cts Br
azil’s
ex
pand
ing gr
owth
in th
e bus
iness
serv
ice se
ctor.
Serv
ices a
re no
w th
e lar
gest
com
pone
nt of
the c
oun-
try’s e
cono
my,
acco
untin
g for
66%
of G
ross
Dom
estic
Pr
oduc
t and
for 6
7% of
emplo
ymen
t. Su
ch a
patte
rn is
ty
pical
of ur
baniz
ation
, and
75%
of Br
azil’s
popu
lation
liv
es in
citie
s.
Mes
sere
t Bel
ihu,
Eth
iopi
a“I
have
a cle
ar vi
sion o
f how
to m
ake m
y bus
iness
profi
table
and s
atisf
y cus
tom
ers. T
he EM
PRET
EC
prog
ram
me h
as he
lped m
e to o
rgan
ize m
y tho
ught
s an
d adju
st to
chan
ge, n
ot on
ly to
expa
nd m
y bus
iness
but a
lso to
man
age i
t mor
e coh
eren
tly.”
Busin
ess:
Ras A
mba
Hot
elAd
dis Ab
aba
E-m
ail: r
ahot
@eth
ionet
.et
Ras A
mba
is a
well-
know
n th
ree-
star h
otel
in th
e Eth
iopian
capit
al, Ad
dis Ab
aba.
It
prov
ides j
obs f
or 65
peop
le, ov
er ha
lf of w
hom
ar
e wom
en. A
long w
ith lo
dging
, the
hote
l has
a re
staur
ant,
a wed
ding a
nd m
eetin
g hall
, a ca
terin
g se
rvice
, and
an ai
rpor
t shu
ttle s
ervic
e. It
rece
ntly
boug
ht ad
dition
al lan
d and
cons
tructi
on ha
s beg
un
on an
expa
nsion
inte
nded
to up
grad
e the
hote
l to
four
-star
stat
us.
The b
usine
ss wa
s esta
blish
ed in
resp
onse
to th
e gro
w-ing
need
for h
otel
acco
mm
odat
ion in
Addis
Abab
a, in
part
to m
eet e
xpan
ding t
ouris
m. T
he nu
mbe
r of
inte
rnat
ional
visito
rs to
Ethio
pia ha
s clim
bed b
y 23
.5% be
twee
n 200
5 and
2007
. Whil
e muc
h rec
ent
hote
l con
struc
tion i
n Add
is Ab
aba i
s bein
g car
ried o
ut
by la
rge i
nter
natio
nal in
vesto
rs, Ra
s Am
ba is
loca
lly
owne
d and
man
aged
.
This
firm
, bas
ed in
the G
hana
ian ca
pital
of Ac
cra, p
ro-
duce
s and
pack
ages
dried
fruit
s, nu
ts, an
d veg
etab
les,
includ
ing co
conu
t, m
ango
, pap
aya,
pinea
pple,
bana
na,
eggp
lant,
tom
atoe
s, pe
pper
s, an
d spic
y plan
tain
chips
. Eb
enut
Gha
na sh
ips 10
tons
of th
ese p
rodu
cts ev
ery fi
ve
week
s to t
he U
nited
King
dom
, the
Unit
ed St
ates
, and
Se
nega
l. Do
mes
tic sa
les ar
e also
exte
nsive
. The
firm
’s go
al is
to tr
iple i
ts cu
rrent
outp
ut.
Ghan
a has
rich f
arm
land a
nd ha
s tra
dition
ally
depe
nded
on it
s agr
icultu
ral s
ecto
r. It
is th
e thir
d lar
gest
expo
rter o
f pine
apple
s to t
he Eu
rope
an U
nion.
Th
ese e
xpor
ts ha
ve gr
own b
y 45%
over
the l
ast fi
ve
year
s and
brou
ght i
n US$
42 m
illion
in ea
rning
s. Eb
enut
ca
pitali
zes o
n fre
sh fr
uit le
ft ov
er af
ter h
arve
sting
; this
of
ten-
waste
d pro
duce
is no
w bo
ught
and p
rese
rved
, re
sulti
ng in
mar
keta
ble, p
opula
r pro
ducts
and h
as
incre
ased
farm
ers’ i
ncom
es.
Sana
Zaa
l Bur
gan,
Jord
an“T
he EM
PRET
EC pr
ogra
mm
e in J
orda
n offe
red
traini
ng th
at he
lped m
e to i
mpr
ove m
y bus
iness
in diff
eren
t way
s. I r
ealiz
ed th
at I a
m no
t cra
zy an
d tha
t th
ousa
nds o
f ent
repr
eneu
rs all
over
the w
orld
shar
e m
y per
sona
lity t
raits
. Hav
ing an
entre
pren
euria
l pe
rsona
lity i
n Jor
dan i
s rar
e.”Bu
sines
s: M
ed G
rant
Abu F
eras
Ham
dani
Stre
et, S
akha
Build
ing 2n
d floo
r - A
mm
anE-
: Info
@joh
ealth
.com
www.
johea
lth.co
m
Med
Gra
nt, b
ased
in th
e Jor
dania
n cap
ital o
f Am
man
, pr
omot
es m
edica
l ser
vices
in Jo
rdan
, esp
ecial
ly to
int
erna
tiona
l “med
ical t
ouris
m” c
lient
s. It
s acti
vities
ar
e foc
used
on a
webs
ite ca
lled J
oHea
lth.co
m, t
hrou
gh
which
it pr
ovide
s acc
urat
e and
trus
twor
thy i
nfor
ma-
tion a
nd th
roug
h whic
h pat
ients
from
all o
ver t
he
world
can a
rrang
e for
trea
tmen
t with
in th
e cou
ntry.
It
sum
mar
izes s
cient
ific r
esea
rch ca
rried
out b
y Jo
rdan
ian do
ctors
and p
rovid
es a
mar
ketp
lace w
here
bu
yers
of m
edica
l equ
ipmen
t can
find s
uppli
ers.
It
also d
oes c
harit
y wor
k, pa
rticu
larly
relat
ed to
dise
ase
prev
entio
n, ca
ncer,
drug
s, an
d wom
en’s h
ealth
. The
bu
sines
s has
an es
timat
ed va
lue of
US$
450,0
00.
Jord
an’s m
oder
n med
ical s
yste
m an
d well
-train
ed do
c-to
rs ha
ve be
com
e a m
ajor s
ource
of fo
reign
inco
me.
So
me 1
00,00
0 for
eign p
atien
ts vis
ited a
nnua
lly
betw
een 2
002 a
nd 20
07, a
nd M
ed G
rant
has f
ound
a su
ccessf
ul nic
he in
mat
ching
patie
nts w
ith po
tent
ial
prov
iders
of he
alth c
are.
The g
oal s
et by
Jord
an’s
med
ical t
ouris
m se
ctor is
to ex
pand
earn
ings t
o US$
1 bil
lion p
er ye
ar. W
orldw
ide, m
edica
l tou
rism
resu
lted
in 19
milli
on vo
yage
s in 2
005 w
ith an
inco
me o
f US$
20
billio
n.
Sapp
hira
Nya
bunw
a,
Uga
nda
“I wo
uld lik
e to s
ee m
y bus
iness,
whic
h has
won
co
ntra
cts to
serv
ice m
ost o
f the
lead
ing co
mpa
nies
in Ka
mpa
la, re
main
the N
o. 1 c
leanin
g ser
vice i
n the
co
untry
. It h
as pr
ovide
d wor
k for
man
y you
ng pe
ople,
inc
luding
the d
isadv
anta
ged a
nd sc
hool
drop
outs.
”Bu
sines
s: Sa
fi Clea
ning S
ervic
es Lt
d.Po
stel b
uildin
g, Plo
t 67/
75P.O
. Box
2859
1 - Ka
mpa
laE-
: safi
clean
ing@u
tlonl
ineco
.ugsa
ficslt
d@ya
hoo.c
omww
w.sa
ficlea
ners.
com
This
firm
, bas
ed in
the c
apita
l of K
ampa
la, pr
ovide
s pr
ofes
siona
l clea
ning s
ervic
es, in
cludin
g law
n clea
n-ing
, fum
igatio
n, ga
rbag
e coll
ectio
n, dr
y clea
ning,
and c
omm
ercia
l laun
dry w
ork.
Its c
orpo
rate
clien
tele
includ
e She
ll Uga
nda,
Stan
bic Ba
nk, T
otal
Ugan
da,
the W
orld
Food
Prog
ram
me,
Celte
l Uga
nda,
Ugan
da
Telec
om, t
hree
majo
r hos
pitals
, and
the B
ritish
High
Co
mm
ission
. It h
as 80
0 em
ploye
es ar
ound
the c
ount
ry
and a
mon
thly
turn
over
of U
S$88
,000.
Safi C
leanin
g is r
eflec
tive o
f Uga
nda’s
expa
nding
se
rvice
secto
r. Se
rvice
s acco
unte
d for
48%
of th
e co
untry
’s Gro
ss Do
mes
tic Pr
oduc
t in 2
006 a
nd fo
r eigh
t ou
t of 1
0 new
jobs
crea
ted.
Such
firm
s also
helps
su
stain
the n
ation
’s man
ufac
turin
g sec
tor -
- the
y pur
-ch
ase 6
0% of
the e
quipm
ent a
nd su
pplie
s pro
duce
d by
Ugan
dan m
anuf
actu
rers.
Emel
da N
yash
a N
yam
upin
gidz
a, Z
imba
bwe
“I m
otiva
te m
y sta
ff by
allow
ing th
em to
mak
e sug
-ge
stion
s, an
d am
willi
ng to
try o
ut th
eir id
eas.
For
exam
ple, e
mplo
yees
prop
osed
that
durin
g the
se to
ugh
econ
omic
times
, we p
ack f
oods
as a
sideli
ne bu
sines
s --
an id
ea th
at ga
ve bi
rth to
the P
inefla
ke Fo
od br
and.”
Busin
ess:
Nyay
a Ind
ustri
es t/
a Zes
k Pro
ducts
21 Bi
rming
ham
Road
, Sou
ther
ton -
Har
are
E-m
ail: e
mm
i2000
@zol.
co.zw
Nyay
a Ind
ustri
es is
a re
giona
l firm
base
d in H
arar
e wh
ich m
akes
cand
les an
d poli
shing
prod
ucts.
It ha
s re
giste
red a
ffilia
tes i
n Moz
ambiq
ue an
d Mala
wi. I
ts fo
unde
r, a tr
ained
chem
ist, s
tarte
d the
busin
ess a
fter
she n
otice
d a de
arth
in th
e ear
ly 19
90s o
f qua
lity
cand
les an
d poli
shes
in Zi
mba
bwe.
She c
onsid
ers t
he
curre
nt ec
onom
ic ha
rdsh
ips of
the c
ount
ry to
be “a
ch
allen
ge, n
ot a
dete
rrent
.” He
r bus
iness
now
emplo
ys
mor
e tha
n 150
peop
le an
d eac
h mon
th ex
ports
56
tons
of ca
ndles
to M
alawi
.In
man
y Afri
can c
ount
ries,
includ
ing Zi
mba
bwe,
cand
les ar
e a ba
sic ne
cessi
ty in
rura
l are
as. S
uch
area
s ofte
n hav
e no e
lectri
city.
Nya
ya In
dustr
ies is
the
large
st ca
ndle
mak
er an
d sec
ond l
arge
st po
lish m
aker
in
Zimba
bwe.
Whil
e oth
er co
mpa
nies c
once
ntra
ted
on ur
ban c
usto
mer
s, Ny
aya b
egan
prod
ucing
a sm
aller
an
d che
aper
cand
le fo
r the
four
-fifth
s of Z
imba
bwea
ns
who l
ive in
the c
ount
rysid
e. Th
e com
pany
cont
inues
to
prov
ide si
gnifi
cant
emplo
ymen
t dur
ing th
e rec
ent
difficu
lt ec
onom
ic pe
riod.
The
Aw
ard
Fin
alis
ts
10 11
The Award Panel
The Women in Business Award panel of judges represents a wealth of knowledge, from a wide variety of regions and industry backgrounds. They include 12 women and 8 men working in enterprise development who are familiar with the business environment in developing countries. Their indepen-dent judgement is based on working knowledge and experience of what it takes to develop a small business with an impact on local communities, product or process innovation, and the ability to break into new markets domestically and abroad.
Piero Formica
Professor of
Economics with a
special focus on
innovation and entrepreneurship.
Jönköping International Business
School, Sweden*
Patrizia Carlevaro
Head of the
International Aid
Unit at Eli Lilly
Simona Marzetti
Secretary
General, Interna-
tional Network for
SMEs Association (INSME)
Pierre Kunz
Member of the Great
Council of Geneva,
Switzerland &
President of GENILEM, Geneva*
Nigel Chanakira
Group CEO,
Kingdom Financial
Holdings Limited
(KFHL), Zimbabwe
Mamta Mishra
Executive Director,
World Literacy of
Canada
Cécile Molinier
Director,
United Nations
Development
Programme (UNDP), Geneva
Nayef Z. Stetieh
President,
The Business
Development
Center (BDC), Jordan
Jannie Tay
Managing Director,
The Hour Glass Ltd.,
Singapore
Karen Wilson
Founder of GV
Partners & Advisor
to the European
Foundation for Entrepreneurship
Research (EFER)
Christine Thompson
Policy Issues
Manager,
SABMiller PLC,
London
Robert
Ahomka-Lindsay
CEO,
Ghana Investment
Promotion Centre
Judith Cone
Vice-President,
Emerging Strategies,
Kauffman Foundation
Haifa Al Kaylani
Founder & Chair-
woman,
The Arab Inter-
national Women’s Forum (AIWF),
London
Patricia R. Francis
Executive Director,
International Trade
Centre (ITC), Geneva,
Switzerland
Khalil Hamdani
Special Adviser,
The South Centre, a
Geneva-based
inter-governmental organization
Thomas Knecht
Deputy Head,
Private Sector
Development
Division, Swiss State Secretariat for
Economic Affairs (SECO)
Virginia Littlejohn
CEO,
Quantum Leaps, Inc.,
a Washington D.C.
based NGO helping women’s busi-
nesses grow
Joyce R. Aryee
CEO,
Ghana Chamber of
Mines.
Constantine Bartel
Assistant Programme
Director,
International Centre
for Trade and Sustainable Develop-
ment (ICTSD)
* Technical Expert who prepared the questionnaire and selected short list of candidates.
Women in Business Award 2008
UNCTAD XIIACCRA, GHANA 21 APRIL, 2008
Setting up a successful business is a difficult venture for any entrepreneur - even under the most propitious of circumstances. In many developing countries, entrepreneurs face additional challenges in terms of administrative requirements and lack of crucial entrepreneurial skills.
Women entrepreneurs, however, face an additional burden of having to make their way in what is often considered a man's domain. It is for this reason that UNCTAD's EMPRETEC programme tries to assist promising entrepreneurs in developing countries, including women, to develop their skills and expand their business. Often, this support has made a crucial difference. Just consider the woman restaurateur in Uganda, who saw her sales quadruple after attending one of the EMPRETEC workshops. Another woman entrepreneur, this time in Guyana, was able to sell her pineapple and honey hotpepper-sauces directly to supermarkets overseas. These women are pioneers of development, and can be role-models for others.
I hope that UNCTAD's new "Women in Business Award" will serve to highlight the challenges faced by women in entrepreneurship, and provide an incentive for women in all countries to rise to the challenge and become entrepreneurs.
Statement by the Secretary-General of UNCTADDr. Supachai Panitchpakdi
April 2008
12
Paola Borges Barcellos Tucunduva is a
Brazilian entrepreneur assisted by
EMPRETEC. She acknowledges that
EMPRETEC/SEBRAE gave her the
methodological tools to manage an en-
terprise, such as planning, financial flows
and controls. “I learned to set clear,
specific goals and spot opportunities.
EMPRETEC also taught me
self-confidence and a spirit of initiative.
When I applied all these lessons to my
enterprise, we started to grow.”
In response to the needs of the public
sector, EMPRETEC also runs the Intrapre-
neurship (or Corporate Entrepreneur-
ship) Training Workshop (ITW) aimed at
motivating employees in large public
firms and institutions, promoting a
dynamic organizational culture.
In this respect, plans call for the
establishment of an Entrepreneur-
ship Centre in the United Republic of
Tanzania with facilities in Dar es Salaam
and Mwanza, to offer a wide range of
training, business development and
linkage services, including for women
entrepreneurs. At a round table for CEOs
in Tanzania, 35 entrepreneurs welcomed
UNCTAD’s programme on Intrapreneur-
ship for Public and Private Enterprises,
which they felt met the training needs of
their own initiative on enhancing public
service leadership. The CEOs set up a
scholarship fund for this programme,
co-financed by the Tanzanian
Government and the World Bank.
Women play a crucial role
Women seeking to generate income by
starting up and developing a business
usually operate in micro, small or
medium-sized enterprises. What is less
known is that in many countries, up to
40-50% of such enterprises are owned
and run by women. UNCTAD assists
women entrepreneurs and helps
alleviate poverty among women, for
instance through the
“Mujer Emprendedora” programme in
Guatemala. (see box below)
How UNCTAD is helping women in Guatemala
Ingrid Zulma Elizabeth Ixcotoy Sanic of the Chimaletenango region began making a living as a tailor and sold her clothes in the local market. She wanted to improve her earnings and expand her business but had no idea how to go about it. Through the training programme for women, she gained the necessary knowledge, business skills and access to credit to open three shops.Like Ingrid, over 600 women entrepreneurs – largely indigenous – in Guatemala’s rural areas attended one of the 21 special training workshops, allowing many to improve their income and living standards. Financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, “Mujer Emprendedora” was adapted from training materials developed in El Salvador by the Asociación de Gerentes de Guatemala. It worked in partnership with 15 rural institutions, including women’s organizations, cooperatives and non-governmental organizations that extend microcredit, to help identify women entrepreneurs and their specific needs.
13
Women in Business Award 2008
To encourage entrepreneurship among women, in 2007 UNCTAD announced the launch of the Women in Business Award. The businesses in question have been screened and evaluated according to such selected criteria as entrepre-neurial spirit, innovation and business achievements, consonant with the main theme of UNCTAD XII (Accra, 20-25 April 2008): Addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development. In an official ceremony at UNCTAD XII, the Award will, for the first time, be granted to women-owned businesses that have made the most of the business development services of the EMPRETEC Centres in their respective countries and excelled in developing an innovative business idea, providing jobs and income growth. The participating women entrepreneurs own highly productive and innovative businesses in diverse industries, including small handicrafts, industrial food processing, garments, hotel or web portal ownership. They serve as models of success for other women, spearheading a process of cultural change in their communities.
14
Developing Policies thatFoster Small Business
As all economies can gain from a more dynamic small business
sector and because SMEs have specific strengths and weaknesses, national and inter-
national policy frameworks address SME needs. UNCTAD fosters intergovernmental
dialogue, identifies best practices through research and analysis, and facilitates the
adoption of SME-friendly policies.
An expert meeting on “Increasing the Participation of Small- and Medium-sized
Enterprises in Global Value Chains” took place on 18-19 October, 2007. It was based
on a joint research project by UNCTAD, the OECD and the University of Fribourg
entitled “Enhancing the Role of SMEs into Global Value Chains”, and was funded by
the Swiss Government through the Geneva International Academic Network. Case
studies carried out in Africa, Asia and Latin America in various industries highlighted
the relationship between a chosen group of large transnational corporations (TNCs)
and their local suppliers. Developing country suppliers, especially those in mature
manufacturing industries, face high barriers to entering Global Value Chains (GVCs)
as well as keen performance pressures following entry. This led to the conclusion
that developing a favourable business environment, albeit important, is insuffi-
cient. Efforts should be made to boost SMEs’ ability to meet international standards,
increase linkages and innovate or upgrade, in particular through programmes that
help lower-tier developing countries suppliers integrate into global and regional
value chains.
15
UNCTAD’s research focuses on drawing
lessons from international best practices
on how to reform the business envi-
ronment and improve competition in
national markets as well as access to
foreign markets; fostering the effective-
ness of national institutions, both public
and private; and creating a business-
friendly regulatory framework.
The recent UNCTAD publication en-
titled “Global Players from Emerging
Markets: Strengthening Enterprise
Competitiveness through Outward
Investment” examines why develop-
ing country firms are investing abroad
and what the best practices and policy
options are for supporting interna-
tionalization from emerging economies.
The research indicates that outward
direct investment has helped enterprises
boost their revenue, assets, profitability,
market reach and exports. Moreover, the
study notes that developing countries
have reformed their policy environment,
liberalized their regulatory frameworks,
and relaxed exchange controls. Strea-
mlining procedures for approval and the
conditions governing equity ownership
of affiliates abroad, raising the invest-
ment permit ceiling, building capacity,
developing market intelligence, and
incorporating special provisions in
international investment agreements
are some other examples of support
measures. As the study revealed, some
developing countries actively provide
institutional support to help their firms
internationalize.
UNCTAD also works closely with the
private sector on reforms, seeking the
views of small and informal enterprises
which are often neglected. UNCTAD
participates actively in existing inter-
national networks such as the Donor
Committee for Enterprise Development,
the International Network of Small and
Medium Size Enterprises (INSME) and
other relevant international fora.
Recent PublicationsUNCTAD provides sound policy recommendations, strategic leadership as well as operational guidance for programme implementation related to SME internationalization, including on TNC-SME linkages, clusters, global value chains, and direct outward investment. UNCTAD's work on these issues has resulted in the following publications:
"Business Linkages Programme Guidelines" (UNCTAD/ITE/TEB/2005/11)"Deepening Development through Business Linkages" (UNCTAD/ITE/TEB/2006/7) "Global Value Chains for Building National Productive Capacities" (TD/B/COM.3/79)"Enhancing the Participation of Developing Countries SMEs into Global Value Chains" (TD/B/COM.3/EM.31/2)"Linkages, Value Chains and Outward Investment: Internationalization Patterns of Developing Countries' SMEs" (TD/B/COM.3/69)"Global Players from Emerging Markets: Strengthening Enterprise Competitiveness through Outward Investment" (UNCTAD/ITE/TEB/2006/9)
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